Saturday, September 30, 2006

I was up about every 2 hours or less with Liam last night. He was running a fever and just miserable. When he woke at 5am, I woke Ian so he could help me give Liam some medicine and take his tempurature. His tempurature was 100.7. Not too bad.

He wanted Daddy to cuddle him and seemed reluctant to go back to me. I put him down in his crib and he seemed restful. At 5:45 he awoke again and I put him in bed with me to see if he'd fall back asleep. He did, but I could tell he was having those weird dreams when you are sick. He was kicking now and then, and seemed unsettled. I went to kiss him on the forehead and it was obvious his fever was gone. I was glad.

I put him back in his crib and he slept until 8am.

So I thought he was fine because he was pretty good today, not really whiney like he was yesterday. I was wrong!

He slept from noon to 2pm. When he woke from his nap, he got whiney again and around 4 or 5 we noticed another fever. That was followed by a sick diaper which told us it wasn't just teething.

I put him in the shower with Ian. That seemed to put him in a good mood playing in the water with Daddy! Shortly after the shower he got whiney again. He tried to be happy, but he just felt so cruddy. I canceled my evening plans. I didn't want to leave my sick babe.

He went to bed at 7:30 and has been up every hour since then. Poor baby...

Friday, September 29, 2006

Okay, that may sound dramatic, but this past week I have been so sad that Liam is almost a year old! A YEAR OLD!!! It worries me to death!

Why?

Well, let me list my worries:

1) He still uses his pacifier like ALL the time! Especially at night.

2) He knows how to drink from a sippy, but isn't serious about it.

3) If he can't drink seriously from a sippy, then how soon will he be able to drink from a cup?

4) He thinks every kind of feeding (breast, bottle or spoon) is a game. He giggles and bites me way too often during feedings. He laughs and snickers every few seconds with the breast or bottle (in turn letting go of the food way too much). He won't open his mouth for food as eagerly as you'd think he should. I have to stuff it in and then he still spits some of it out. Finger foods are swiped to the floor, tasted then spit out or ignored.

5) When do I wean him from the bottle? When is it over the line for a kid to have a pacifier and bottle hanging out of his mouth? Can he just stay a baby forever???

So I have been stuck in baby mode and thought only of convenience. Now I finally realize I have NOT been prepping him (nutritionally) for toddlerhood. I guess I am set in my ways. In one month I have to train myself to feed a toddler as he should be fed. And all I want do is whine, "I don't wanna!"

Planning, preparing, feeding and especially cleaning up food for a toddler is not appealing. I am so worn out this past week that I have left that mess under the high chair TWICE! That is a huge sticky, crumby mess to be cleaning more than once a day! And the boy and his clothes... another mess! I wish he'd sit still, cuz I would just feed him in the bathtub with only a diaper to save myself the time and trouble of clean up. Thank goodness for paper towels at least...

Anyway, it's just another "daily grind" I need to get used to. It's just hard in the mornings when I am working at home. (And I just hate crumbs on my floor....)

P.S. The actual Liam-growing-up is okay. It does make me sad because I love having a baby to hold and cuddle, but I know him growing up is exciting and has it's trade offs too. But, yes, I see how women get baby hungry at this stage.

Monday, September 25, 2006

Today is your 11 month mark. And what a mark you have been making on my world since day one! You are growing, kid, and I don't just mean how tall you are getting. That expanding brain of yours is workin' overtime! I am pretty sure you know what we are saying most of the time. I see you study each new thing you see and reach out to investigate further. Dad understands that need and whenever we go shopping he helps you touch EVERYTHING. Just last week he let you hold every kind of fruit so you could study each one. He pronounced the word for each one very carefully so you would be sure to retain each name (for later when you speak English).

You are walking, not just stepping here and there. You have destinations to reach and even when you trip and fall, you don't fuss. You get right back up and keep on keepin' on. I love it when you have a toy in each hand as you walk towards me. You like to show your skills. You look so pleased with yourself as you hold your loot. Such a little man showing off your strength and coordination!

Your favorite thing to do currently is play in my flower beds in the front yard. You and dirt are good friends. Mud or gravel, even better. You like to pick my flowers and scrape them in the dirt. You like to grab fistfulls of dirt and let them go, and then do it again. You like to find rocks or leaves and hide them in your fist so hopefully when I pick you up, you'll be able to smuggle your treasures into the house (for further study). You are comical to watch as you explore the world around you.

You are testing the waters of eating solids and sleeping more at night. You can drink from a straw. Your favorite word is "BA". You have two upper and two lower teeth. You take breaks during your feedings to laugh or snicker. You give goofy grins that show off that funny gap between your two top teeth. You've learned the art of going backwards down stairs. You practice this skill at every opportunity. You ignore me when I try to make you smile for the camera. You love climbing in and out of containers. Suitcases are your mainstay. You even try to get into things that are too small for you. You like to empty the paper rolls in the bathroom. You giggle at the site of water. You still giggle at the site of the cats. As I always say, Liam, "simple pleasures..."

It's hard to believe that 11 months have passed us by like a blur. It's been the most beautiful blur I have ever come into contact with. You continue to prove marvelous, my sweet boy. We couldn't have ordered up a better boy than you! Your mild nature is unique. It's such a blessing to have a child like you in our home, in our lives, in our family.

Happy birthday, Bug! You are making strides! I sure wish you could remember all these imprints you are making on our world.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Thursday, Sept. 21st was the day we left for Lake Powell. We had made arrangements with our friends to leave our respective towns around the same time so we could meet about the same time at Lake Powell. (They are in Arizona and we are in Utah.)

The day was a whirlwind of packing, preparing, loading, cleaning and hastily rushing out of town. Luckily the only things I forgot weren't a big deal. Liam did a great job handling the car seat for 6 hours. He always surprises me with how mild he can be when other babies would have lost their cool. We got to Paige at 9pm, and called our friends at a Chevron because we couldn't get service on the cell. They were still two hours out since they ran into some bad stand still traffic. We went to Wal-mart to pick up flats of water, firewood and some other food items we intentionally didn't buy ahead of time. It was a little after 10pm when we got back to Lone Rock Park to wait for our friends. We expected them around 11pm. We continued listening to our Patricia Cornwell book on CD while Liam slept.

Trent and Robin pulled in right when we expected them. We decided not to drive too far up the beach because another guy had gotten stuck in the sand and it was too dark to decide on a campsite. We set up the campers near the boat launch and said good night.

We had a mighty wind storm all night long. I was grateful for the tent trailor because I think our regular tent would have taken flight if we were sleeping in it. It was really cold that night too...

Friday, Sept. 22nd we woke up fairly early with the kids. I pulled Liam into bed with me and kept covered. It was freezing! Ian brought us some breakfast and then went with Trent and Robin to find a good camp site. When they got back, Ian took us to approve the site. It was perfect! It was a private cove over a hill and down in a bowl shaped area of the sand dunes. We camped just a few feet from the water line. And because of the shape of the site, the wind wasn't as bad and the sand didn't fly as high.

After we set up camp, I let Liam play in the sand... not two minutes later he was booking it for the water's edge. By the time I grabbed him, he was almost wet to his neck! When I pulled him from the water, he kicked and squealed! So three rounds later of water, sand, water, sand, I stripped him and cleaned him up. I played with him in the clean camper until we went on a boat ride to the marina.

Charlotte and Liam fussed when we put them in their life jackets. Whew the air was even chillier once Trent "hit it" into gear! Liam didn't seem to mind the cool windy air as he checked out the wake behind us. Charlotte fell fast asleep with the motion of the boat. Liam seemed to prefer Ian the entire weekend and especially on the boat cruises we took. As if riding in Dad's arms was the most secure place to be. And if he was in my arms, he kept a close eye on his dad.

Trent and Ian built a campfire when we got back so Ian and I could put our foil dinners on the coals. It took forever to cook, so we finally resorted to using the hibatchi grill after Trent and Robin were done grilling their dinner. Ah, a hot dinner after a chilly day... perfect! And what's even better, we were all asleep by 9pm. (Oh and before bed we had smores!!!!)

Saturday, Sept 23rd we woke to warmer tempuratures. We ate our cold cereal for breakfast and discussed packing a picnic and going on a boat cruise through Navajo Canyon (last year we went through Antelope Canyon). I made some turkey sandwiches with jalapenos, packed some chips and my yummy chocolate chip cookies. We left to go to the marina first, since the shop was closed the day before when we went. We got ice cream treats and Ian also bought a muffin to feed to the ducks and carp. Liam loved watching the fish. It startled him (and me) when they would fight over the big chunks of muffin... they would make a sucking sound as they rose out of the water to grab the food from each other. Eww.

Once we got back into the boat, the babies nursed to sleep and stayed asleep until we were midway into the canyon. We stopped in a cove of the canyon, watched lizards crawl up the rocks and ate our sandwiches. We gave the babies a break from their life jackets and let them crawl around the boat. Watching Liam try to walk in a rocking boat was funny, but sad too. He wouldn't give up. I am sure between the boat and the sandy beach, his balance improved.

When we got back we decided showering was a good idea. So we found another camp area up the road that had coin operated showers. That was interesting trying to juggle a 15 minute water time limit while playing pass-the-baby. We pulled it off though. We felt refreshed and made our way to the Dam Bar & Grill. Ian had a Dam big burger and I had a pasta dish. Liam and Charlotte did well in the high chairs though they made a HUGE mess.

We got back to camp, put the kiddies to bed and then got the camp fire going. We sat out at the camp fire with Trent and Robin goofing off and laughing with each other. It was a fun finally in being reunited with our dear friends for a few days. We probably went to bed a bit too late, but it was worth it. We laughed so much that night!

Sunday, Sept. 24th we woke to the perfect day to STAY ALL DAY! But no, the weather was finally just right, the water was like glass and we had to pack up and leave. I think I was pouting all morning because of this and the fact that I was dreading the final good-byes to our friends. Our camp went down pretty easily so we were drove out of the park by 10am. We stopped for gas and then for a bite eat... our last meal with our friends... We kissed, hugged and snuggled the kiddos good-bye. We had a prayer, then hit the road.

Liam did well the first couple hours... then it was all down hill from there. We had a very sad boy on our hands. We stopped a few more times than we wanted to, but we finally drove into our hometown at 6:30pm. Ah, so nice to be home!!! We cleaned out the car and Ian took it to get washed and vacuumed while I got Liam fed and ready for bed. That little guy fell asleep at 8pm on the nose. And I stayed up WAY too late creating that video montage you see above!

I have noticed since Liam was born that babies have no shame. This is a good thing I guess, but who teaches children shame? Their parents, right? That is kind of sad to me, but when I think any deeper about it, I realize shame is necessary for our children to learn what is good and bad. I mean, Adam and Eve were ashamed when they were found naked after partaking of the fruit. This is a good lesson. They were suddenly aware of their nudity when they partook of the fruit from the tree of knowledge. They suddenly had that awareness because of partaking. It was that simple and necessary for them to learn.

Babies barf, poop, pee, sneeze, cough, toot, spit and smack. Because they are so small and new, it's okay that they do these things. (It's even cute sometimes... and even funny to we more immature parents.) We moms even lower the standards of our conversation subject matter to the bodily fuctions of our children. It's a time of "no shame" for the baby and the parents. We know what's going on and how weird it is that we are used to these daily clean ups. The babies, though, haven't yet learned how ill-mannered these things are (to most folks). So in the meantime, we just deal with it and worry if our baby is constipated or gassy (sometimes privately, sometimes publicly). What an odd step back we adults take when we bring new poopers into the world.

Another thought on shame: If I don't know what someone says, whether they mumbled or spoke in broken English to me... I DO NOT assume I know exactly what they said. Babies, on the other hand, can either understand us completely or take a wild and confident guess with no shame. I talk to Liam all the time. I ask him things, tell him things and tease him. Ian teaches Liam things too. Does he understand us? I tend to think he does when he's doing exactly what I ask or immediately does something we taught him. Or is he just guessing?

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Click HERE to start the tour, or else click on whatever thumbnail image HERE that disturbs you the most. The captions to the right of each card is the funny part (well I guess the photography is too with the table props, etc.)

Watch yourself... this is extremely funny! Have bathroom nearby cuz you may just laugh THAT hard! (This statement is based on a study of 50 women, 9 of which wet their drawers reading this. Just kidding, but I am sure it could do that kind of damage 18% of the time.)

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

I haven't been motivated to journal lately. Last Monday Liam got excited about my camera and swiped at it and it fell to the floor and broke. Yep, my new camera, that early birthday present ended up dead only a week after my birthday. And it costs 100 bucks to fix. So once I get it to the repair shop it takes 5 weeks to get it back. And when will I have a chance to drop it at the repair shop? Who knows.

So I have taken back the old camera from Ian. I had let him use that as his fishing camera and the last time I checked, it smelled like fish. YUM! (and it's a 4.0 mp and my new camera is 7.1 mp)

Anyway, not a lot to report other than the fact that Liam has gotten more and more confident in his balance and walking skills. Somehow I have misplaced the "other" camera tonight and Liam has been going nuts walking. Great timing. He is even doing turns! Dang! I wanted to be documenting it... Ian was here and everything! We are so impressed with him and he seems impressed with himself too! He turns and walks to me, and when he reaches me, I get big hugs! This parenting thing gets sweeter and sweeter. I dread him getting older because I love him as a baby, but I am excited for him to talk to me, learn new things and for him to be more independent. I can see how women want a second baby now that my first is turning into a toddler. I am, however, not sold on the idea another baby (neither is Ian).

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Yep, the whole sleeping 7 hours Friday night and the 5 hours the night before that... yep, a total fluke! So Master Liam can pull it off, but he was just out to set a record and that was about it. It's true! I heard him whisper to Orion the other day (as he was pulling his tail) that he was just testing the waters of sleeping longer. But he decided that he really likes the multiple cuddle sessions in the night instead. GREAT!

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Yes, it's true! He slept from 11:30pm to 7am!!!!!! Of course I didn't go to bed until 1am, but that is 6 hours of straight sleep AND after he ate at 7, we got to sleep 2 more hours! I am so glad he slept in on a Saturday! AWESOME! What a good boy!

He took another record set of steps yesterday morning! 11 steps!!! He is launching on his own and walking whenever he feels like it, not just when we coax him.

Friday, September 08, 2006

He also has a new record of taking 6 steps! As of 2 days ago is extremely confidant in practicing his walking.

AND... he slept from 1am - 6am this morning! Count it! 5 hours of sleep! I haven't slept that much at once since Liam was 3 months old! Getting him on solids this past week or so is helping him sleep longer I think. And when he cries at night, I don't immediately pick him up to nurse. I try to get him to go back to sleep by laying him down with his blanket, rub his back and cross my fingers that he'll go back to sleep without eating. (It's working... slowly but surely.)

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Sunday, September 03, 2006

This is our 3rd year going up to Idaho for the county fair and rodeo with our good friends (from Our Own Private Idaho). We drove up there Friday night and had a pretty smooth trip. Liam slept about half of the trip, so the rest of it I was hanging out in the back seat with him playing games and watching Baby Einstein. I think we finally got there around 10:30pm.

We were greeted with smiles and conversation. Liam played with the kid's electronic piano while we old folks chatted. It was so nice to see our good friends again!

Saturday, Josh made pancakes and eggs for us! After breakfast, I put Liam down for a nap and snuck in there after he dozed off to snooze too. When we woke, it was time to start getting around so we could hit the road to another town for errands and the fair.

We stopped at our friends' parents house and Katie and I took my car to make a quick stop at the grocery store (Liam was with us while the guys shot skeet and other kids stayed at the parents'). Well, we got to the store, got what we needed, checked out and THEN I realized I had put the keys in the diaper bag which I did not grab after locking the doors. Yeah, we were stranded (how embarrassing and timely). [Begin signs of nausea and headache now]. All the locksmiths in town were closed and the last guy I called took pity on me and said he would "be right there". While we waited, Katie was reassuring me that "it happens" and "it will be alright". She is such a patient and kind friend. I was so glad to have her support during this.

I clapped my hands in excitement when the locksmith arrived... He worked on my car (all 4 doors and managed to jimmy his way to the auto lock inside the car) for almost an hour with no luck! He called a fellow locksmith to get any added advice for this particular Land Rover model. No advice... that guy was referencing the same manual our guy had. DANDY! He said he was sorry, offered us a ride, wouldn't let me pay him and left.

We called to have Josh come pick us up. Josh brought Ian with him (yikes I knew he'd be upset). After explaining what all the locksmith did to no avail, Ian made the decision to break a window because Land Rover wouldn't be able to help us until Tuesday (it being a holiday weekend). While the guys were deciding which window to bust, a delightful stranger walked by and said, "... you guys locked out?" "Yep, we think so!" "Well I have never been locked out of a car! I live down the street. Let me go get my tools and I will be right back. I have NEVER been locked out of a car." "Okay! Thanks!"

After a few minutes, our new pro was back with his tools. He explained he worked in security for a couple companies and this trick was his specialty. He worked for about 20 minutes with NO LUCK! [My nausea and headache were getting worse.] Josh took one of the tools and worked on one side and the hero guy was on the other side doing the same work. After another 5 minutes or so, the kind stranger had SUCCESS! I couldn't believe it! I ran over to that stranger and hugged him and thanked him profusely! I was beside myself with joy!

We paid the hero 20 bucks and got back to the house to pick up the kids so we could at least make the rodeo. Ian calmed down and got me smiling and feeling a lot better! By the time we got to the fair, my headache was gone.

Josh and Katie had family sitting at the Rodeo, so we called them and asked them to call when the bull riding started. We all wanted to get some fair food before walking over to the rodeo, so it was nice to have an inside source watching out for us.

We got our oober-nutritious fair food after much shopping and deciding. We even picked up a little cowboy hat for Liam. Too cute!

We got great seats for the rodeo and Liam couldn't miss any of the action. He especially liked the barrel racing! He was bouncing and cheering with the crowd!

After the rodeo, we walked around the fair a bit more with Josh, Katie and the kiddos. We stopped so the kids could test out the parked police car. While they were playing, Katie took a couple family pictures of us. This is the best one... Liam all grins even at 11pm! A couple minutes later, I handed Liam to Alli for another picture. Alli was so tired, but never would pass up an opportunity to hold "baby Liam". She is a seasoned big sister and asked a few times if we could leave Liam in Idaho with her... as sweet as those requests were, I think she understood that Liam couldn't stay forever.

We got back to Josh and Katie's around midnight or so. We all slept really well that night... completely worn out from the day's events.

We woke Sunday morning to the savory smell of bacon! Once again Josh made us all breakfast! Our tradition when we visit is to have hash (potatoes, bacon, cheese and grease)! Josh does it best and we look forward to it each time we go to their house. It was awesome and stuck to our ribs until mid afternoon!

We went to church and attended Sacrament meeting then Josh's Gospel Doctrine class. I have to say this man has talent when it comes to interpreting scripture. He is teaching the Old Testament. And I have never heard the story of Jonah in the light Josh explained it. Amazing how he takes all aspects of the story to help the class understand Jonah's perspective, his followers' perspective and of course God's perspective. I learned so much even with a fidgety baby. When I had to take Liam out, I would crack the door because I didn't want to miss anything! Now that's a good teacher!

Our trip home was pretty smooth. Liam slept only half the time, but I was able to entertain him between naps. We did stop at a rest area so he could stretch his legs. He would pull the grass, look at his full hand and act so proud! Simple pleasures...

It was nice to get home and know that we didn't have to go to work on Monday. Ah, three day weekends are the best!

** "Git 'er done" was said many times over the intercom at the fair (a lady DJ of sorts). So while we walked around the fair grounds, this lady would announce different booths and attractions we should go see. After about every third announcement she would say Larry the Cable Guy's catch phrase in the most motherly non-redneck funny way. Katie and I would bust up laughing each time she came on, then impersonate her and laugh some more!

Friday, September 01, 2006

I have to say I am really excited to go see our friends in Idaho this weekend! Not just because we get to see our really cool friends who have a way of making us laugh pretty hard... But because I get to spend the whole weekend with my husband and little boy. We haven't seen much of Ian in the past couple weeks because of a big side project he working on after work each night and on Saturdays. WE'VE MISSED HIM!

So thinking about the road trip this evening has gotten me in a great mood! I get to sit in the car for a few hours and catch up with Ian a bit. Then we'll be doing other fun things with our friends once we reach Idaho. And looking forward to having Monday off of work is always a mood booster too!

I picked Liam up from the sitter yesterday and when we got home I noticed he had a second bottom tooth! I have been scouting out his (second) upper one coming in, that I didn't even notice the bottom side. So he has 3 teeth now and the 1 on top will be the 4th in a few days. I think he is handling teething pretty well. I am up every 3 hours in the night with him anyway, so I am not noticing a difference in my lack of sleep. I do have to say the teething tablets have been a great solution when we do know he is in pain.

Another thing, on Wednesday night Liam was crawling up onto the suitcase and Ian taught him how to get down backwards instead of him doing face plants each time he climbed down from something. Smart little thing. He wouldn't stop practicing once he learned this pearl of wisdom. It was funny seeing him get up and down over and over. (It may have been because he knew it was bedtime and was milking his cuteness for all it was worth.)

Liam's Videos and Montages

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“Boys are found everywhere on top of, underneath, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around or jumping to."

~Alan Beck

"I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire for themselves of God whether they are led by Him. I am fearful they settle down in a state of blind self-security, trusting their eternal destiny in the hands of their leaders with a reckless confidence that in itself would thwart the purposes of God in their salvation, and weaken that influence they could give to their leaders, did they know for themselves, by the revelations of Jesus, that they are led in the right way. Let every man and woman know, by the whispering of the Spirit of God to themselves, whether their leaders are walking in the path the Lord dictates, or not. This has been my exhortation continually."